Debussy Archive
Marius-Francois Gaillard: Complete Debussy Recordings 1928-1930 – APR
Historic Recordings of Impressionist Composers by Marius-Francois Gaillard and Carmen Guilbert, from the skillful hands of engineer Mark Obert-Thorn.
Ray Chen – The Golden Age – Decca
The Golden Age—Ray Chen plays works by Kreisler, Bruch, Debussy, Gershwin, Scott, and others. Ray Chen (violin), Julien Quentin (piano), London Philharmonic Orchestra, dir. Robert Trevino; Made in Berlin (quartet)—Decca 483-3852—53:26, *****: The promise of music from the “Golden Age” of violinists—namely by the likes of violinists such as Kreisler, Heifetz, and Joachim and composers like Debussy, Satie, and Gershwin—is the theme behind this new release from Australian violinist Ray Chen. Decca does a superb job of capturing the music in full fidelity, especially so when the music is divided among three ensembles recorded in different locations: violin and piano, violin and orchestra, and string quartet. To my ears, it all sounds as if it was recorded during the same take in the same location. Despite the name of the album, the sound is not pushed behind a gauzy golden veil, but instead is lean and forward. Not every artist might appreciate the transparency of this sound, but it has the effect of putting us, the listeners, right in the front row. It’s really well done. The piece that might set you back into the Golden Age most forcibly is the performance of Debussy’s Clair de lune, which sounds straight […]
DEBUSSY: Preludes –Terry Lynn Hudson – MSR Classics
Warm and ingratiating, this recording deserves a sympathetic hearing.
DEBUSSY: Images, Books I-II; Children’s Corner; Suite bergamasque; L’Isle joyeuse – Seong-Jin Cho, piano – DGG
Seong-Jin Cho’s Debussy recital for DGG confirms his place in the Debussy tradition set by Gieseking and Michelangeli. DEBUSSY: Images, Books I-II; Children’s Corner; Suite bergamasque; L’Isle joyeuse – Seong-Jin Cho, piano – DGG 479 8308, 72:47 (11/17/17) [Distr. by Universal] *****: South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho (b. 1994) recently appeared for the Steinway Society in the Bay Area, a concert which I attended, so I can well attest to his predilection for the music of Claude Debussy, a product of Cho’s studies at the Paris Conservatory with Michel Beroff. Debussy’s fascination with light has often borne comparison with the paintings of his admired J.M.W. Turner, the master of gradations of visual hues. So, too, the first set of Images (1905) declares its independence from traditional diatonic harmony and embraces modal and whole-tone scales and sonorities of the East, particularly of the gamelan orchestra of Bali and Indonesia. Debussy relishes the blurring of phrase lengths, and he often eschews resolved chords based on tonal harmony. Cho emphasizes the perfect fifth in the bass chords of Reflets dans l’eau, set in D-flat Major, the opening of which suggests a disturbance in standing water whose ripple effects we follow as they undulate […]
French Moments = Piano Trios by ROUSSEL, DEBUSSY, FAURE – Neave Trio – Chandos
The Neave Trio bestows upon us three French piano trios that well define late Gallic Romanticism and its capacity for rare colors. French Moments = ROUSSEL: Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 2; DEBUSSY: Piano Trio in G Major; FAURE: Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120 – Neave Trio – Chandos CHAN 10996, 70:08 (6/1/18) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Recorded 19-21 October 2017, the three piano trios offered by the Neave Trio—Anna Williams, violin; Mikhail Vesetov, cello; Eri Nakamura, piano—provide perfect vehicles to justify the etymology of the ensemble’s chosen title, since “Neave” derives from the Gaelic designation for “bright” and “radiant.” Of particular note, the 1902 Piano Trio in E-flat by Albert Roussel (1869-1937) will prove enchanting, given its striking colors and post-Franck harmonic syntax. The opening movement—Modere, sans lenteur—though establishing a three-note pattern on the home key in a manner that suggests a sunrise, quickly gravitates into the active, chromatic harmony we associate with late French Romanticism. Roussel does demonstrate a melodic gift, occasionally in a martial spirit, and his cello likes to meander in dark hues. The recapitulation of this movement presents the themes in reverse. The influence of Cesar Franck makes itself felt in the […]
The Music of Lucien Caillet, Vol. 2 = Works by BACH; BUXTEHUDE; VIVALDI ; DEBUSSY; RACHMANINOV; TCHAIKOVSKY; CAILLET – Pristine Audio
Both sophisticated and splashy, the transcriptions from Lucien Caillet compel some virtuoso playing from various ensembles.
Carlo Zecchi: The Complete Cetra Solo Recordings – Carlo Zecchi, piano/ Arrigo Tassinari, flute/ Giaconda da Vito, violin/ E.L.A.R. Symphony Orchestra/ Fernando Previtali – APR
The piano artistry of Italian master Carlo Zecchi finds a resplendent tribute in Obert-Thorn’s meticulous restoration.
The Music Treasury for 27 May 2018 — Reed Tetzloff, pianist
This week, pianist Reed Tetzloff is featured on The Music Treasury, hosted by Dr Gary Lemco. A recent graduate of the Mannes School, Tetzlaff is already a name on the international stages, having performed in Europe, the United States, and China. The show is broadcast live on Sunday 27 May 2018, from 19:00 to 21:00 PDT from Stanford University, KZSU, and can be heard concurrently through its Internet stream on kzsu.stanford.edu. Mr Tetzloff will be joining Dr Lemco as an on-air guest for the evening’s show. More details of the the show, the artist, and the evening’s playlist follow. Reed Tetzloff, pianist Our on-air guest this evening is American pianist Reed Tetzloff (b. 1992). Mr. Tetzloff has expressed his admiration for several pianists of the past, such as Alfred Cortot and Vladimir Sofronitsky, whose examples we may sample in the course of our discussion, along with performances by Mt. Tetzloff himself. Mr. Tetzloff earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Mannes College the New School for Music, where he studied in with Dr. Paul Wirth. Tetzloff has also had studies with Leif Ove Andnes, Yefim Bronfman, Vladimir Feltsman, Richard Goode, and Andre Watts. He came to international attention at the […]
Beau Soir = FAURE: Violin Sonata; Berceuse; FRANCK: Violin Sonata; DEBUSSY : La file aux cheveux de lin; Beau soir – Kyung Wha Chung, violin/ Kevin Kenner, piano – Warner Classics
After a substantial hiatus from the recording studio, Korean virtuoso Kyung Wha Chung returns with a soulful program of Gallic music. Beau Soir = FAURE: Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Major, Op. 13; Berceuse, Op. 16; FRANCK: Violin Sonata in A Major; Panis angelicus (arr. Kenner); DEBUSSY (arr. Hartmann) : La file aux cheveux de lin; Beau soir – Kyung Wha Chung, violin/ Kevin Kenner, piano – Warner Classics 0190295708085, 64:13 (3/23/18) [warnerclassics.com] ****: Recorded 31 October and 7 November 2017, this recital from the UK bears a dedication to Kyung Wha Chung’s concert manager of forty years, Yukio Izumi, whom she remembers for “his passionate and constant dedication to music.” Chung opens with a tastefully passionate account of Faure’s 1878 Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Major, the work that announced—said Camille Saint-Saens—Faure’s having become a master. The piece bears the imprimatur of the Faure style: alternately austere and measured, it offers refined temperament, heightened melodic ardor, and the unmistakable harmonic syntax that defines his especial sonic elegance. The ardent first movement Allegro molto proceeds in a modified sonata-form, rife with broken octaves and sudden crescendos in both parts. Besides asking the piano to intone the first melody […]
DEBUSSY: Pelléas et Mélisande – London Sym. Orch./ Simon Rattle – LSO Live
There aren’t that many readings of Pelléas on the market, so this surround version captures a lot of due attention! DEBUSSY: Pelléas et Mélisande – Christian Gerhaher (Pelléas)/ Magdalena Kožená (Mélisande)/ Bernarda Fink (Geneviève)/ Franz-Josef Selig (Arkel)/ Gerald Finley (Golaud)/ Elias Mädler (Yniold)/ Joshua Bloom ((Shepherd/Doctor)/ London Sym. Orch./ Simon Rattle – LSO Live multichannel SACD (3 discs) + Blu-ray Audio LSO0790, 165 minutes [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****: Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, based on the Symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck, has long been regarded as one of the landmarks of twentieth century music even though it also goes far in the very redefinition of opera. The curious love triangle, involving Prince Golaud (who finds the lost Mélisande in the woods and marries her), and his half-brother Pelléas (whom Mélisande will come to love, for some reason not exactly clear), is not so much a plot as a series of emotional scenes that are in many ways self-contained. One could almost excise them and give them separately with little loss of continuity. You cannot really imagine a piece like Schoenberg’s Ewartung without Pelléas et Mélisande. The composer, who had been fascinated—like so many others at the time—with the music of […]
Clara Haskil Complete Recital Ludwigsburg 1953 = Piano Works by BACH; SCARLATTI; BEETHOVEN; SCHUMANN; DEBUSSY; RAVEL – SWR Music
History enjoys a bit more closure in our having Clara Haskil’s complete recital from Ludwigsburg, 1953.
“Change of Keys” = Piano Works by HAYDN; BEETHOVEN; CHOPIN; SCHUMANN/LISZT; DEBUSSY; BARTOK – Carol Leone, piano – MSR Classics
A varied and nicely complied recital played with strength and conviction. “Change of Keys” = HAYDN: Sonata in C, HOB XVI: 50; BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 30 in E, Op. 109; CHOPIN: Ballade No. 1 in g, Op. 23; SCHUMANN (arr. LISZT): Liebeslied “Widmung” S.566; DEBUSSY: L’Isle joyeuse, L.106; BARTOK: Sonata, BB 88, SZ.80 – Carol Leone, piano – MSR Classics MS 1616, 73:09 [Distr. by Albany] ****: Carol Leone, currently a professor of piano at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of Music, counts among her pedagogues Mieczyslaw Horszowski at the Curtis Institute of Music, and Guido Agosti after earning an honors diploma during a summer at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. She has the chops for this wonderfully varied and intrepid program, displaying formidable technical acumen and a fine sense of lyricism. Her Haydn is crisp and sturdy, while his student Beethoven’s late work suitably introspective without losing the superb yet odd structure that couches so much of Beethoven’s later music. Chopin’s opus is quite a change, yet Leone manages the transition without a second thought, and the short step to Liszt’s Schumann arrangement proves mild indeed. Only the Debussy seems odd to me here. Not an especially beloved piece […]
TEN BEST CLASSICAL OF 2017 – II
Best of the Year Classical List for 2017 Recommendations by Fritz Balwit Bela Bartok: Complete String Quartets – Heath Quartet – Harmonia Mundi 907661.62 This young quartet has achieved the highest levels of concentration on this complete set of the quartets. All aspects of Bartok, from prickly agitation and folk humor to serene contrapuntal abstraction, are perfectly rendered. There is real excitement in the playing and the soundscape is outstanding. This recording narrowly edges out a release by the superb Chiara quartet, which, uniquely, plays the music without scores. Bjarte EIKE: The Ale-House Sessions – Rubicon 1017 This recording, reviewed on these pages this past summer, has only gotten better with repeated listening. Bjarte Eike has succeeded in presenting a frothy, joyous and surprising repertoire of Purcellian inspired fiddle music to popular audiences. The fiddlers can bawl out sea-shanties as well, but when Mr. Eike turns his bowing talent to a lament, there won’t be a dry eye in the house. Grand fun and superb musicianship. Star rating has been upgraded to *****! Link to Review DVORAK & SCHUBERT: String Quartets “Death and the Maiden” & “American” – The Dragon Quartet – Channel Classic 39417 Four […]
TEN BEST CLASSICAL OF 2017 – II
TEN BEST CLASSICAL OF 2017 – Fritz Balwit Bela Bartok: Complete String Quartets – Heath Quartet – Harmonia Mundi 907661.62 This young quartet has achieved the highest levels of concentration on this complete set of the quartets. All aspects of Bartok, from prickly agitation and folk humor to serene contrapuntal abstraction, are perfectly rendered. There is real excitement in the playing and the soundscape is outstanding. This recording narrowly edges out a release by the superb Chiara quartet, which, uniquely, plays the music without scores. Bjarte EIKE: The Ale-House Sessions – Rubicon 1017 This recording, reviewed on these pages this past summer, has only gotten better with repeated listening. Bjarte Eike has succeeded in presenting a frothy, joyous and surprising repertoire of Purcellian inspired fiddle music to popular audiences. The fiddlers can bawl out sea-shanties as well, but when Mr. Eike turns his bowing talent to a lament, there won’t be a dry eye in the house. Grand fun and superb musicianship. Star rating has been upgraded to *****! Link to Review DVORAK & SCHUBERT: String Quartets “Death and the Maiden” & “American” – The Dragon Quartet – Channel Classic 39417 Four young Chinese musicians, who have established […]
DEBUSSY: Estampes; Images; Children’s Corner Suite; La plus que lente; L’Isle joyeuse – Stephen Hough, piano – Hyperion
DEBUSSY: Estampes; Images, Books I-II; Children’s Corner Suite; La plus que lente; L’Isle joyeuse – Stephen Hough, piano – Hyperion CDA68139, 69:25 (1/5/18) [Harmonia mundi/PIAS] **** A potent and sonically resonant all-Debussy album attests to the spectacular technique of Stephen Hough. Having listened to the exotic, even voluptuous, sounds of the gamelan and gong (or metallophone) at the 1899 Exposition Universelle in Paris, Debussy carried within his musical imagination of vast array of potential colors, each of which finds release in his brilliant 1903 suite Estampes (Engravings). Stephen Hough proves admirably capable of projecting the vibrant, pentatonic energy of the opening Pagodes, set on the keyboard’s black keys. Although Debussy marks the score sans nuance, the effect of ‘distancing’ does not diminish the spectacular wave-like motion—via 2-bar and 4-bar measures—of the piece, as though Balinese dancers had their sensuous reflection in a still pond. For the second of the engravings, Debussy takes us to Spain, as cross-fertilized by Moorish harmony. The lilted habanera rings with Spanish folk idioms across the range of the keyboard. The languor of the music increases with the strumming of sensuous guitars, moving to a hazy, even lazy, sense of seductive quietude. Hough explodes with a […]
Vilde Frang: Homage = Violin Music by RIES; SCHUMANN; WIENIAWSKI; GLUCK; SCHUBERT; POLDOWSKI; DEBUSSY; SCRIABIN; KREISLER; DVORAK; PROKOFIEV; ALBENIZ; PONCE; BAZZINI; MENDELSSOHN – Vilde Frang / Jose Gallardo – Warner
Vilde Frang: Homage = RIES: La capricciosa; SCHUMANN: Widmung; WIENIAWSKI: “Obertass” Mazurka; Caprice in E-flat; GLUCK: Melodie; SCHUBERT: Ballet Music from “Rosamunde”; POLDOWSKI: Tango; DEBUSSY: La plus que lente; SCRIABIN: Etude, Op. 8, No. 10; KREISLER: Gypsy Caprice; Rondino; DVORAK: Slavonic Dance in e minor; PROKOFIEV: Masks; ALBENIZ: Sevilla; PONCE: Estrellita; BAZZINI: Calabrese, OP. 34, No. 6; MENDELSSOHN: Song without Words, Op. 62, No. 1 – Vilde Frang, violin/ Jose Gallardo, piano – Warner Classics 0190295605326, 54:51 ****: Vilde Frang “indulges” her talents by paying homage to composers in transcriptions by masters of her instrument. Norwegian Violin virtuoso Vilde Frang (b. 1986) pays literal homage to the pedagogues and luminaries of the past with seventeen pieces and arrangements (rec. March 2017) made for her chosen instrument by the likes of Auer, Kreisler, Heifetz, and Szigeti. Frang performs on an 1854 Jean-Baptiste Vauillaume, opening her suave program with an “undoctored” original piece from 1925, La capricciosa, by Franz Ries (1846-1932), a work that slides and cavorts in flirtatious gestures, then breaks into a spiffy version of a Brahms Hungarian Dance. The fine lied from Schumann’s Op. 25 Myrthen, “Widmung” makes as ravishing a violin transcription (by Leopold Auer) as it does […]
Streams and Podcasts for 22 November 2017
The pianist Dino Ciani had a rich career, with breadth and diversity in his repertoire ranging from Beethoven to Bartok, including Schumann, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy… In addition to solo piano works, he was also noted playing the concerto repertoire through major concert halls in the United States and Europe, working with Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Sir John Barbirolli, and others. Dr Gary Lemco, host of The Music Treasury, will review significant recordings from Ciani’s career, unfortunately cut short by his untimely death in his thirties. Included will be solo piano works by Schumann, Beethoven, Faure, Hummel, Debussy, and concluding with Beethoven’s first piano concerto. The show can be heard on 22 November 2017, between 19:00 and 21:00, PST. In addition to being a radio show, it is also presented as streaming broadcast: kzsulive.stanford.edu
“The Unbroken Line” = DEBUSSY: Images; Preludes; RAMEAU: Castor et Pollux; Nouvelles Suites – Jeffrey LaDeur, piano – MSR Classics
“The Unbroken Line” = DEBUSSY: Images I; Preludes II; RAMEAU: Selection from Castor et Pollux; Selection from Nouvelles Suites – Jeffrey LaDeur, piano – MSR Classics MS 1654, 69:39 [Distr. by Albany] ****: An interesting concept that rings quite true. Jeffrey LaDeur is a widely performing artist who is also the founder of the noted Delphi Trio and Founder and Artistic Director of the New Piano Collective, a consortium of internationally renowned pianists. Debussy is somewhat in his blood as he returns to Weill Hall in 2018 to commemorate an ongoing survey of the composer’s music in the anniversary of the year of his death. Here he attempts to make, in very erudite album notes, an association of Debussy’s admiration for the music of Rameau, and even his musical construction based upon some of that of the earlier artist. He certainly is correct when asserting that Debussy was interested in maintaining and developing the “pure” French tradition, especially when opposing it to the then pervasive—and some would say, persuasive—influence of Wagner. But I am afraid that the concept fails to emerge in a formidable manner on this disc, simply because there is not enough Rameau here to make the case. […]
DEBUSSY: Masques; … D’un cahier d’esquisses; L’isle joyeuse; Images ; Estampes; Children’s Corner – Steven Osborne, piano – Hyperion
DEBUSSY: Masques; … D’un cahier d’esquisses; L’isle joyeuse; Images I; Images II; Estampes; Children’s Corner – Steven Osborne, piano – Hyperion CDA68161, 73:21 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] *****: A long time coming, but well worth the wait. It’s been since 2006 that Steven Osborne released his Debussy Preludes, one of the better sets to come out in the last twenty years, so it’s nice that he has turned his sights on the Frenchman again. This time the album is of a very popular nature, since at least five of the works are among the most played. Masques is from 1904, a much more evasive and subtle work than its companion from the same time, L’isle joyeuse, supposedly a “happy” time indeed as the composer had shipped his wife off to Normandy—and she attempted suicide for the first time that year—while eloping with Emma Bardac. Perhaps this dual pairing is reflected in new-found love in L’isle joyeuse while expressed in Masques, according to his widow, the “tragic expression of existence”—who can say? Either way, Steven Osborne turns in appropriately suitable readings of great expressivity. The 1903 Estampes (the French name for Japanese prints), is thought to be the result of his […]
Beecham at the Royal Festival Hall, Vol. I = HAYDN: Symphony No. 101; LALO: Symphony in G Minor; DEBUSSY: Cortege et Air de Danse – Royal Phil. Orch./ Sir Thomas Beecham – Pristine Audio
Beecham at the Royal Festival Hall, Vol. I = HAYDN: Symphony No. 101 in D Major “Clock”; LALO: Symphony in G Minor; DEBUSSY: Cortege et Air de Danse from L’enfant prodigue – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/ Sir Thomas Beecham – Pristine Audio PASC 502, 58:42 [www.pristineclassical.com] ****: The first of the Beecham concerts from Royal Festival Hall displays the conductor’s brio in his chosen repertory. The “inimitable” Sir Thomas Beecham (1897-1962) appears in the first of three volumes dedicated by engineer Andrew Rose to the two concerts of 25 October and 8 November 1959 at the Royal Festival Hall. Typical of the “Beecham effect,” the spirits of these concerts remain thoroughly gracious and accessible, since before an audience – as opposed to his meticulous rehearsal methods – Beecham never took himself too seriously. The conductor’s geniality derives mainly from his thorough knowledge of his repertory, combined with his ensemble’s total technical control and nuanced response to their conductor’s wishes. While some commentators bemoan Beecham’s use of what now scholarship considers corrupt editions of Haydn, his measured, affectionate d minor Adagio of Symphony No. 101 spreads forth a luxuriant carpet that soon erupts into a festive 6/8 Presto that gallops and sachets […]
Leff Pouishnoff: The Complete 78-rpm and Selected Saga LP Recordings = Historic Recordings of Piano Literature- Leff Pouishnoff, piano – APR
Leff Pouishnoff: The Complete 78-rpm and Selected Saga LP Recordings = Historic Recordings of Piano Literature- Leff Pouishnoff, piano – APR 6022 (2 Discs) 73:49; 75:32 [TrackList follows] (6/20/17) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: APR revives the legacy of Leff Pouishnoff, whose limited recorded work indicates a fiery personality who fell into decline. Among the throng of musical talents nurtured by Odessa, Leff Pouishnoff (1891-1959) showed extraordinary prowess as a youth, and Fyodor Chaliapin encouraged Puishnoff to attend the St. Petersburg Conservatory to study piano with Annette Essipova and with theory and composition teachers, Rimsky-Korsakov, Anatole Liadov, and Alexander Glazunov. Having toured with violinist Leopold Auer, Pouishnoff escaped the ravages of the 1917 Russian Revolution by migrating to Persia, and then to Paris and London. In 1921 and 1922 Pouishnoff performed at Wigmore Hall and at Proms concerts. He began making records for Columbia in 1922 and 1923 display his natural virtuoso technique, crisp articulation, melodic charm, rhythmic excitement, and a persuasive piano tone. Pouishnoff came to America in 1923-24; while in Britain by 1925, with the institution of the electrical recoding process (1926), he had already gained a repute as a Chopin exponent. In 1928, for the Schubert centennial, he […]
Final Thoughts: The Last Piano Works of BRAHMS and SCHUBERT = BRAHMS: Piano Pieces, Op. 116 through 119; SCHUBERT: Piano Sonatas D. 959, D. 960 – Jorge Federico Osorio (p.) – Cedille
Final Thoughts: The Last Piano Works of BRAHMS and SCHUBERT = BRAHMS: Piano Pieces, Op. 116, 117, 118, 119; SCHUBERT: Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959; Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960 – Jorge Federico Osorio, piano – Cedille CDR 9000 171 (2 CDs) 77:02; 79:24 (5/12/17) [Distr. by Naxos] **** Jorge Federico Osorio invests an ardor of personal authenticity into the late works of Schubert and Brahms. I had the distinct pleasure of hearing Mexican piano virtuoso Jorge Federico Osorio (b. 1951) in concert some years ago in San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Center, and I recall having been impressed with his magnificent technique, poise, and security in the repertory of his choice. In this ambitious album (rec. 27-30 June and 26 July 2016), Osorio approaches two composers in their maturity, although ascribing that term to youthful Franz Schubert, aged thirty-one, besets us with manifold ironies. The magnificent 1828 A Major Sonata, D. 959, for instance, combines an exalted lyricism with a breadth of interior turmoil, marked by circuitous harmonic ventures. Osorio plays the expansive first movement Allegro with a bright, forward motion, eschewing over-wrought dramatic ploys and padding so as to address directly the tensions inherent in […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
